Alex Wormuth

Toy Stories - Turn your kids' toys into storybooks

Storybooks Illustrator is an online illustration tool for children's book authors and creative parents. Use it to illustrate and publish any story you can dream of.

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Alex Wormuth
When my son was born, I wanted to create something to spark his imagination and inspire his love for reading. There are many children's books out there, but none that deeply aligned with his individual interests. Also, it was hard to compete with TV and games for his attention, so I tried to find a way to make reading more fun. I saw how much he loved his stuffed animals and our 2 huskies, and I wondered if there was a way to create a children's book with them as the characters. I tried many AI tools to generate consistent characters across a story, but it proved difficult -- so I built my own tool! I hope this can be used to spark joy and imagination around the world, and inspire a love for reading.
Michael Shoup
@roamingtechie Love this, Alex! I too had wanted to find something like this to use with my sons, and had many failed attempts with other AI tools. Excited to check yours out. I'll report back with reviews from a 3yo and 6yo :)
Alex Wormuth
@michaelshoup super excited to see how your 3yo and 6yo react! It's great to meet other parents actively seeking fun ways to engage their kids. Big kudos to you for going the extra mile.
Mallikarjun Reddy
This is an interesting tool. Wanted to understand if the same can be used for live characters like our kids photos etc. And on that front, how do you ensure data privacy of the images uploaded by users and the created storyboards?
Alex Wormuth
@mallikarjun_reddy3 thank you for the question! Currently we don't enable support for adding specific kids as characters. We recognize this is something many parents want to do, however there are some privacy concerns, particularly around storing a fine-tuned model of a kid, that we aren't comfortable with supporting yet. That being said, you can still generate stories with humans guided by detailed prompts, and we've seen some good results!
Mallikarjun Reddy
@roamingtechie Good to know you are working privacy first on your product development. Thanks for your answer. Will explore it in its current form for my kids
Two Heads
Wow, such a creative idea! I’ll give this a try with some of my kids toys! Does it animate as well or are the graphics photos only? Congrats on the launch!
Alex Wormuth
@twoheads we'd love your feedback! Currently we support static photos, similar to traditional children's books. Animation is a really interesting idea, though. We'll keep it in mind! Definitely try it out with a few toys and let us know how it goes!
Kyrylo Silin
Hey Alex, What a creative way to engage kids in reading! I'm wondering how the process works. Does the app use AI to generate the illustrations based on descriptions, or is it more of a drag-and-drop system? Are there options for parents to collaborate with their kids on the stories? Congrats on the launch!
Alex Wormuth
@kyrylosilin great questions! The current system is prompt-based. For example, you could create an illustration about a "dragon playing piano for bunnies in a forest". But the unique thing here is you can first create a character using a toy at home, and update the prompt to be "YourDragonToy playing piano for bunnies in a forest" and it will use your character! We have some ideas for drag-and-drop in the future to improve character placement, but that's not available yet. Regarding collaboration with their kids on the stories, we definitely encourage this! We've added a lot of safety features into the image generation to help keep the images safe and fun. And we believe parent-child collaboration is an incredible way to build a stronger parent-child bond, create fun memories, and develop creative skills. Thanks again for your questions and support!
beni
Alex, this is brilliant! Absolutely love it! 💚 Good luck.
Alex Wormuth
@benithemaker thank you! We'll do the best we can to find fun ways to encourage kids to read more!
Kevin Yao
This is such a unique approach, @roamingtechie! I'm curious about how the illustration tool handles different styles and themes. Can users customize characters beyond just names, like adjusting their looks to match personal stories? It would be interesting to see if there are features for adding interactive elements or even audio narration to enhance the reading experience. Can't wait to check this out!
Alex Wormuth
@kevinyaoooooo thanks for the great question and feedback! The characters you create will adapt to different styles and themes. For example, you could send your dinosaur toy to space, or on a medieval adventure, or to the ocean to learn about fish -- the only limit is your imagination! We'll definitely think more about interactive elements and audio. Really appreciate your thoughts and feedback!
Dmytro
Wow, really cool idea! I wonder if it's possible to convert those arts to paper afterwards to make actual book.. And concerning copyrights. Is it possible to sell books with images generated by this tool? Thanks;)
Alex Wormuth
@dmytron yes that's absolutely possible! We built the illustration tool from the ground up specifically designed for exporting the story as a PDF, EPUB, or hardcover book. I've already made a few hardcover books for my son (Darcy's Space Adventure, Darcy and the Magical Math Binky). Reading a physical copy of the story is a really fun experience.
Dmytro
@roamingtechie yeah, totally agree, paper books, esp hard covers 🤤, kill it (did I say it out loud on PH 🙄). Anyways, will double check that export options, since I managed to download only pdf, probably missed it
Dmytro
Guys, tried this out, loved it. But please add the undo option. Created my first image, accidentally deleted it, and didn't find the way to undo that 😕
Alex Wormuth
@dmytron thanks for the feedback! We'll add this ASAP!
Salar Davari
Nice. Glad I didn't miss this. I'm sure Toy Stories will help a lot with empowering children's imagination.
Alex Wormuth
@salar__davari we'll do our best to make that happen!
Govi Chan
Congrats on the launch, @roamingtechie ! This is a really fun product, I’ll try creating a story with Toy Stories for my nephew . By the way , the demo is a bit long ; maybe you could cut down a few steps .
Alex Wormuth
@govichan thanks for the feedback! I'll see if I can update the demo, and if not I'll keep this in mind for future demos. Excited to hear about you and your nephew's experience! Can't wait to see the stories you create.
Dereece Tomlin
Love this! With a background in the kids' education space— It’s fantastic for me to see a tool that empowers creativity through such a streamlined experience! Excited to see how you develop this further team 😊
Alex Wormuth
@dereece_t thanks for your kind words! We're excited to see all of the creative ideas people come up with!
Mitia
Great project @roamingtechie I think this is the diamond of the day. I'll check with my nieces' toys and let you know how it turns out :)
Alex Wormuth
@mitia thank you for your kind words, that means a lot. I can't wait to hear about their reaction. Any feedback you have would be greatly appreciated!
Abhay Talreja
Such a cool idea, Alex! Taking something kids already love and turning it into a story is genius. Congrats on the launch!
Alex Wormuth
@abhaytalreja thanks Abhay! Excited to see what people create!
Elke
What a brilliant way to blend creativity and tech, @roamingtechie! 🎨📚 Can't wait to see the stories that come alive with Storybooks Illustrator. This tool is a game changer for both parents and future authors!
Alex Wormuth
@elke_qin we really appreciate the kind words! Thanks for your feedback and support.
Isabella Rose Wilson
Sounds like a wonderful way to make reading fun for kids,it seems like a really creative idea. Congrats on bringing this to life!🥳
Alex Wormuth
@isabellarosewilson thanks for your kind words! I'm super passionate about finding ways to make reading more fun and engaging for kids.
ma
Toy Stories is a fantastic idea for bringing play and creativity together! 🎨🧸 By combining interactive elements with storytelling, it promises to offer a unique and engaging experience for users of all ages. Can’t wait to see how it evolves and inspires creativity in new and exciting ways! 🌟👏
SEN
This is such an inspiring journey, @roamingtechie! 🌟 It's amazing to see how your personal experience led to the creation of Storybooks Illustrator. The idea of integrating loved ones into stories is brilliant and personalizes the reading experience for kids. I can see this being a game changer for authors looking to make their tales truly unique. Looking forward to trying it out and seeing how it can ignite a love for reading in children everywhere! Upvoted for sure!
Alex Wormuth
@big_tree this project means a lot to me, and I really appreciate your kind words. Anything I can do to spark my son's interest in reading is time well spent, and I hope this can help other families around the world too!
Udaya Sri
This seems like a fantastic idea for helping children explore their creativity. Is there a way to add engaging, thoughtful games featuring the characters they've created? Congratulations on the launch!!
Alex Wormuth
@udaya_sri thank you for your feedback! We've experimented with a few ideas around education, for example embedding reading comprehension exercises into stories: https://www.storybooks.app/story.... But I think you're onto something with personalized characters for enhancing learning. I think children would be a lot more engaged with an activity if a personalized character was along for the journey!
Ali Eskandari
Love the character building feature - congrats on the launch Alex!
Alex Wormuth
@ali_eskandari thanks Ali! I really appreciate it.
Ghost Kitty
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Alex Wormuth
@zulkarnaim we're excited to see the stories you create!